My Houzz: Contemporary Belgian Style Transforms a Dutch Country Cottage
Travel mementos and art fill this couple’s comfortable weekend countryside retreat in the Netherlands
“It was a very expensive birthday,” Gustaaf Huybrechs says with a laugh while remembering how he and his wife, Gertrude, celebrated his 65th birthday at a Michelin three-star restaurant near the Dutch border. “The real birthday treat came after the meal when we went for a walk and came upon this house for sale,” he says. The couple, who reside in Antwerp, had already been searching for a second home in France, but seeing the For Sale sign felt like a homecoming for Gustaaf. He had spent many childhood summers in this coastal area of Belgium, which is known for its cycling paths and the chic resort town of Knokke-Heist.
“The house is located just across the Dutch border in a tiny town called Sint Anna. It allows us to enjoy both the beaches and glamour of Knokke-Heist as well as the peace and quiet of the countryside,” he says. Gertrude adds, “When our sons were young, we rented an apartment here for three summers, and now we enjoy coming here with our grandkids.”
“The house is located just across the Dutch border in a tiny town called Sint Anna. It allows us to enjoy both the beaches and glamour of Knokke-Heist as well as the peace and quiet of the countryside,” he says. Gertrude adds, “When our sons were young, we rented an apartment here for three summers, and now we enjoy coming here with our grandkids.”
A longer view of the house from the street also shows the tower of Sint Anna cathedral, the only remaining piece of the Gothic cathedral for which the town was named. The medieval town was an important commercial outport for the neighboring port of Bruges and was destroyed and rebuilt throughout the years. The row houses pictured here were added around 1900.
AFTER: The walls and ceiling beams were painted a soft white, and the dark oak floors were sanded and bleached back to a natural finish.
“Being that this is a second home, we needed to furnish it cheaply, mostly with furniture we already owned and rounded out with pieces from Ikea,” Gustaaf says. “We’ve also filled it with souvenirs from our many travels, mainly artwork and items purchased from local markets,” adds Gertrude, who is the more adventurous traveler of the two. Some of her previous trips include visiting the tribes of Papua New Guinea, the gorillas of Virunga National Park in Africa and remote villages in Nepal, Myanmar and Ethiopia. The small wooden stepstools by the fireplace are from Botswana and South Africa.
Armchair and couch: Ikea
“Being that this is a second home, we needed to furnish it cheaply, mostly with furniture we already owned and rounded out with pieces from Ikea,” Gustaaf says. “We’ve also filled it with souvenirs from our many travels, mainly artwork and items purchased from local markets,” adds Gertrude, who is the more adventurous traveler of the two. Some of her previous trips include visiting the tribes of Papua New Guinea, the gorillas of Virunga National Park in Africa and remote villages in Nepal, Myanmar and Ethiopia. The small wooden stepstools by the fireplace are from Botswana and South Africa.
Armchair and couch: Ikea
BEFORE: An arched opening connects the two original houses.
AFTER: The couple removed the brick mantel from the fireplace and added unfinished oak shelves on each side for a more streamlined, linear design.
The built-in shelves hold a small portion of the couple’s extensive library, covering art, travel, cartography, architecture and design. More travel mementos are also displayed, such as a black and white leather bread basket from Ethiopia on the top-left shelf and Moroccan baskets that hold firewood and kindling.
A French-style armchair is covered in checked linen for a bit of country charm. Above it hangs a lithograph by Belgian artist Pierre Alechinsky. “We belong to an art club which allows us to support local artists and acquire their work on a rent-to-own basis,” Gustaaf says.
Lacquered Burmese eating bowls sit above a clay sculpture by Gertrude. “I’ve been working with clay for over 20 years,” she says. “My sculptures are baked at 900 degrees and colored with iron and magnesium oxide.”
Lacquered Burmese eating bowls sit above a clay sculpture by Gertrude. “I’ve been working with clay for over 20 years,” she says. “My sculptures are baked at 900 degrees and colored with iron and magnesium oxide.”
An antique Flemish map of this coastal region hangs above an English dresser. The cedar box is another souvenir from Morocco.
The pale neutral color scheme, typical of Belgian style, plays well with the natural light.
A print by Roger Ravell hangs on the wall, blocking the entrance door to the second cottage.
A print by Roger Ravell hangs on the wall, blocking the entrance door to the second cottage.
BEFORE AND AFTER: The couple redid the kitchen with custom cabinetry, Belgian stone and Moroccan zellige tiles above the stove. “We kept the structure and fixtures of the back wall and simply covered it with custom cabinet doors,” Gertrude says. “We then extended the cabinets to the right for a cleaner and more cohesive look.” The center island was also made by the couple’s cabinetmaker.
Range and oven: 6-burner Majestic Techno in matte graphite, Ilve; built-in microwave: Ikea
Range and oven: 6-burner Majestic Techno in matte graphite, Ilve; built-in microwave: Ikea
The farmhouse-style sink is perfect for prepping fresh flower clippings and cleaning line-caught seafood from the local market. “We especially enjoy the oysters here,” Gertrude says. She displays her set of antique oyster plates above in a vintage rack.
BEFORE AND AFTER: The couple repainted the interior side of the existing Dutch door and window trims a soft white. Simple black candle lanterns tie in with the black and white color scheme.
Another antique Flemish map of the region hangs above a vintage kitchen cabinet, which displays a mix of old and new silverware along with bowls holding seashells gathered from the shore.
The long dining hall opens up to the back garden. “It’s quite narrow — only 2 meters [6½ feet] wide,” Gustaaf says. “Fortunately, I had this long table in my office that used to be a dining table for cloistered monks. We freshened it up with light gray paint.” The dimensions work perfectly for the space and also for the couple’s frequent dinner parties.
A watercolor by Nadine van de Kerkhove hangs above the English bar in the room. “When our sons were growing up, we lived in a renovated farmhouse just outside of Antwerp,” Gustaaf says. “This painting looks like that farm.” Another sculpture by Gertrude sits below.
The front portion of the dining hall serves as Gustaaf’s study. The space includes an antique English bookstand and desk, a vintage kilim rug, African belly masks made of balsam from Zanzibar and Belgian linen drapes.
Antique English bookstand: Polyedre
Antique English bookstand: Polyedre
Upstairs, the couple has punctuated the white palette with shades of indigo for a seaside feel.
The two dining chairs are part of the set downstairs and help to dress up a plain white corner. A hidden closet at the left makes maximum use of the empty space created by the gable roof.
Their son’s childhood model boat adds to the nautical theme.
The two dining chairs are part of the set downstairs and help to dress up a plain white corner. A hidden closet at the left makes maximum use of the empty space created by the gable roof.
Their son’s childhood model boat adds to the nautical theme.
When it comes to bedding, Gertrude prefers a simple and unfussy approach. Here, crisp white linens are simply dressed with a woven blanket.
The bathroom is warmed up by a wooden tray table and books. A sculpture by Gertrude adorns the alcove.
The window from the second bedroom overlooks the neighboring goat farms.
The couple says the house is still a work in progress. “We haven’t yet refinished the floors for the second bedroom and bathroom,” Gertrude says. “That’s next on our list.”
Back downstairs, a drawing room done in soft corals opens up to the back garden. A 17th-century Flemish wardrobe holds china and linens.
The sun and moon flanking the French doors hold special meaning for the couple. “Thirty years ago, we bought these during a trip to Austria,” Gustaaf says. “To our surprise many years later, we discovered that they are the symbols for Sint Anna and are part of the town’s coat of arms. I take it as a sign that I was meant to have a home here.”
The sun and moon flanking the French doors hold special meaning for the couple. “Thirty years ago, we bought these during a trip to Austria,” Gustaaf says. “To our surprise many years later, we discovered that they are the symbols for Sint Anna and are part of the town’s coat of arms. I take it as a sign that I was meant to have a home here.”
The couple’s grandchildren, Lucas, 3½, and Astrid, 2, pose in front of Sint Anna’s 18th-century water pump. The coat of arms with the sun and moon can be seen above.
A view of the tower can be seen from the back garden. Gustaaf counts gardening as one of his great passions. “We did a lot to the garden,” he says. “We planted creeping ivy and grapevines, boxwoods, hydrangeas, roses and daffodils and also added the terrace. During springtime and summer, it is lush and fragrant.”
Nestled among the greenery are two small porcelain owls by Piet Stockmans, master porcelain-maker for fine restaurants worldwide. “They were a gift from a friend,” Gustaaf says.
This shrine to the Indian god Ganesh is a souvenir from India.
Potted and clipped boxwoods adorn the front entrance. Fidel, the couple’s Bernese mountain dog, enjoys watching the cyclists go by.
The plaque on this nonfunctioning entrance door includes a nod to Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte. Written on it is “Ceci n’est pas une porte,” which is a witty reference to the painter’s famous piece, The Treachery of Images.
The space behind the old barn doors serves as the home’s mudroom.
The space behind the old barn doors serves as the home’s mudroom.
Gustaaf and Gertrude are pictured here with their grandchildren, who enjoy visiting the countryside cottage.
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My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Gustaaf and Gertrude Huybrechs, with their Bernese mountain dog, Fidel
Location: Sint Anna ter Muiden, the Netherlands
Size: About 2,500 square feet (232.2 square meters); two bedrooms, 2½ baths
Year built: Around 1900
The house is actually a combination of two smaller houses originally built for humble fishing families and blacksmiths back in the day. The previous owners completed the onerous task of merging them into a more comfortable living space and doing major structural upgrades. The door Gustaaf is standing in front of here is the only one of the three original entrances that still functions. The second entrance door and barn doors were kept, however, since the town is in an architectural preservation zone.